The Lamont Leader (Lamont, Alberta), Wednesday, August 18, 2021 - 15
2,000 attend Skaro Pilgrimage BY JANA SEMENIUK Skaro Shrine was bustling with activity this past weekend as visitors and parishioners of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church celebrated the Annual Skaro Pilgrimage. The event, which recognizes the day Mary was assumed into heaven, has drawn people from across North America for more than 100 years. This year’s event drew almost 2,000 people. Local parishioner Janine Whiting said she was surprised at the size of the crowd this year after last year’s event was cancelled due to COVID restrictions. “It was cancelled last year for the first time in 102 years. We only had a small celebration with
local people instead,” she said. “So even though this year’s event was pretty small I was surprised how many people still came out. “ Whiting explained the steps taken in scaling back this year’s event in light of COVID concerns. “Things were not 100 per cent back to normal. We tried to do things a bit differently like not having a concession this year to try and keep people from touching things,” she said. While crowds normally swell to near 3,000 people at the annual event, Whiting said the 100th pilgrimage in 2018 was unusually large. “We had more than 5,000 people come that year,” she said. Whiting added that the celebration always
occurs during Aug. 14 and 15th which can make it tricky for priests to attend if it falls on a weekend. “When it falls on a Saturday, Sunday, its difficult for priests to get away because they have their own parishes to look after. So this year we ended up having nine priests and normally we'll have between 30 and 40,” she said. The two-day celebration began in the evening of Aug. 14th with events including confessions and a procession then ended on Aug. 15 with a mass service in the morning. Whiting said many of the attendees have strong personal ties to the shrine. “Most people feel a strong family connection
to this place if they have someone buried in the cemetery or are related to someone who helped to build it,” she said. Whiting added that she has relatives who helped to construct the shrine. “My great grandparents helped to build it,” she said. The grotto was completed in time for the first Pilgrimage on Aug 14, 1919 according to thedialog.org. Local farmers, many of them Polish and Ukrainian immigrants, used 600 wagonloads of stones and 300 bags of cement to build the grotto which was designed as a replica of the Our Lady of Lourdes grotto in France.
The whole family came out to the Skaro Pilgrimage. Photo Jana Semeniuk
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